Two massive explosions have rocked the Syrian capital Damascus with state media reporting dozens of people dead or injured.

The scale of the explosions is still unclear, but it has been suggested the explosions represent the deadliest attacks in the city for months.

The Syrian foreign ministry reported 55 people killed, 372 injured, and said the remains of 15 other unidentified people have also been found.

More than 1000 kilos of explosives were used, the foreign ministry spokesman said.

Residents said smoke was rising above buildings in the southern area of the capital, near to a major ring road and a military intelligence building, while state media blamed "terrorists" for the explosions.

The attacks will further endanger a fragile ceasefire brokered by international envoy Kofi Annan, during which activists claim several hundred people have been killed in attacks by both sides.

The Syrian government said that "dozens" of people had been killed in the near-simultaneous explosions on Thursday, and posted gruesome footage of burned bodies in the wrecks of cars and the shattered remains of victims.

More than 9,000 people have been killed in Syria since the start of the uprising in March 2011, the UN has said. The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights puts the total killed closer to 12,000.

Activists with The Local Co-ordination Committees group say that 1,000 people have been killed since the start of the ceasefire.

Syrian Explosion: Photos

Syrian Explosion: Photos

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Syrian inspectors investigate the crater in front of a damaged military intelligence building where two bombs exploded, at Qazaz neighborhood in Damascus, Syria, on Thursday May 10, 2012. Two strong explosions ripped through the Syrian capital Thursday, killing or wounding dozens of people and leaving scenes of carnage in the streets in an assault against a center of government power. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)